Thursday, April 22, 2010

Thanks, Mom!

When I was six years old, my mom got very sick and had to stay in the hospital for a while. The doctors scared us with the possibility of her not making it out the front door. We had to wait it out, and luckily she pulled through and was able to come home and convalesce instead. During that time, she began having spiritual experiences. I won’t go into detail about the experiences themselves, but she did however write down her own proverbs that she “heard” from God. I never knew she had these writings, until she had given them to me a few months ago to comfort me. The papers that were written on were a yellowish hue from age and slightly stiff from being tucked away for many years. I have them stuffed into my bible’s cover into a pocket. I’m not going to jot down all of the proverbs, but while reading them this morning, I came across a few that struck a chord with me. I felt I needed to share it since more and more Christians are turning over to other religions or just becoming agnostic or “spiritual” - leaving the core of what they believed at first.

“Christianity is like a rose with thorns to the unbeliever. They look at the thorns and not the rose.” --Mom

When I write about Christianity and my faith that Jesus is the only way to get into heaven, I spark up responses from unbelievers that are sometimes offensive or perhaps, “defensive”. Christianity is scary, no doubt. Though I believe people make it that way. Scriptures in the bible are sadly twisted at times, making the person who is trying to understand Christianity run back into their safe place of “accepting religions” or just plain ol’ “spirituality”. They don’t have to define anything other than “there’s definitely something out there”. Especially for my gay and lesbian friends, they hide under a rock of atheism or, a slew of different religions so they can pick and choose which fits their needs. I do believe that there are Christians out there who have so much hatred in their hearts and demand to correct everyone who is less than perfect, not realizing their own flaws. People will always disappoint you---but God will never. People are the ones that put a bad name in Christianity, or try to.

“It is better to be led by the bible, than to be led by the devil.” --Mom

The bible is probably one of the most scariest books if you don’t interpret it the right way. To most, the bible is hard to understand and the messages are sometimes encrypted with hidden meanings that could leave you wondering. For myself, I personally pray and meditate before I attempt to open up ‘the scary book’. If I don’t pray and meditate beforehand---it’s all Greek to me, and at times, the messages I had once read are a total different meaning. When you read the bible with little faith, the words are going to be either scary or incomprehensible. There are many times where I just hold the book while I pray, ask a question that has been haunting me for some time, and then when I open the book---the answer is right in front of me. It’s truly amazing, which is why I have complete faith in the bible and another reason why I think this book is magical.

“The best fish shall be caught with a line baited with understanding.” --Mom

God will always bait His line with understanding if you are hungry for it. If you don’t want to understand because it seems “too scary”, then you’ll simply miss the incredible bait. With prayer and meditation (listening to God) comes understanding. Some people just pray and forget that there is a process of listening or “meditating” that goes hand-in-hand with your relationship with God. One of my favorite scriptures about prayer is listed in Matthew 6:5-7. It basically tells you how you don’t have to repeat each prayer or say “Our Father” a billion and one times. Be “you” - that’s what God wants.

“And now about prayer. When yo pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

How much clearer can that message be? Although my line of work and my personality doesn’t fit the “perfect Christian”, is more reason why people would listen to me about Christianity, as opposed to someone who preaches ‘the good word’ every single day of their lives. I’m unconventional, I sin every single day, like everyone else, I do things that are not perfect and I accept that I’m not perfect. I can only do my best. I’m weak in many areas of my life. (“God’s weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength.” -1 Corinthians 25) Why would I doubt God if it says in black and white that He is my strength?

“Ask and I shall speak for you. Ask and I shall write for you.” --Mom

I thank God everyday for the ability to speak about my faith as well as write it for anyone who comes across my website. I used to write about Christianity pretty much on a daily basis, but the exhausting debates from Christian fundamentalists had me shy away from it all. I had to take a rest from it because it was becoming more about defending myself rather than sharing myself.

With all of these proverbs that my mother had obtained while in the midst of her own personal spiritual experiences with God, I am happy she was able to release them so I could share them with you. There are many more proverbs that were written down that I will trickle into my blog at a later date with my mom's permission.

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About Me

Author of A Prayer Away From Healing, freelance writer, editor. Main topics deal with mental health, anxiety, depression and grief as well as my personal coping skills. My main source of help in dealing with anxiety and depression is God. With God, all things are possible. I am not a psychologist or mental health professional. I'm a patient that has been dealing with anxiety for almost 30 years. Anxiety never leaves us--we consciously choose to incorporate new coping skills in order to survive.